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Niall Teasdale

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United Kingdom

Website

http://witchesandrayguns.wordpress.com

Twitter

Tharcion

Genre

Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery

Member Since

December 2011

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I was born in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall so perhaps a bit of history rubbed off. Ancient history obviously, and border history, right on the edge of the Empire. I always preferred the Dark Ages anyway; there’s so much more room for imagination when people aren’t writing down every last detail. So my idea of a good fantasy novel involved dirt and leather, not shining plate armour and Hollywood-medieval manners. The same applies to my sci-fi, really; I prefer gritty over shiny.

Oddly, then, one of the first fantasy novels I remember reading was The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper (later made into a terrible juvenile movie). These days we would call Cooper’s series Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy and looking back on it, it influenced me a I was born in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall so perhaps a bit of history rubbed off. Ancient history obviously, and border history, right on the edge of the Empire. I always preferred the Dark Ages anyway; there’s so much more room for imagination when people aren’t writing down every last detail. So my idea of a good fantasy novel involved dirt and leather, not shining plate armour and Hollywood-medieval manners. The same applies to my sci-fi, really; I prefer gritty over shiny.

Oddly, then, one of the first fantasy novels I remember reading was The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper (later made into a terrible juvenile movie). These days we would call Cooper’s series Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy and looking back on it, it influenced me a lot. It has that mix of modern day life, hidden history, and magic which failed to hit popular culture until the early days of Buffy and Anne Rice. Of course, Cooper’s characters spend their time around places I could actually visit in Cornwall, and South East England, and mid-Wales. In fact, when I went to university in Aberystwyth, it was partially because some of Cooper’s books were set a few miles to the north around Tywyn.

I got into writing through roleplaying, however, so my early work was related to the kind of roleplaying game I was interested in. I wrote “high fantasy” when I was playing Dungeons & Dragons. I wrote a lot of superhero fiction when I was playing City of Heroes. I still loved the idea of a modern world with magic in it and I’ve been trying to write a novel based on this for a long time. As with any form of expression, practice is the key and I can look back on all the aborted attempts at books, and the more successful short stories, as steps along the path to the Thaumatology Series.

As of 2015, I have thrown in my lot with writing. After thirty years of being a computer programmer I am making enough money to quit the day job and write full time. Dreams, occasionally, come true. My favourite authors are Terry Pratchett, Susan Cooper, and (recently) Kim Harrison. Kim’s Hollows books were what finally spurred me to publish something, even if the trail to here came by way of Susan, back in school, several decades ago.
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Niall Teasdale’s books

Average rating: 4.14 · 29,043 ratings · 771 reviews · 73 distinct works • Similar authors

	Steel Beneath the Skin (Aneka Jansen, #1) 3.80 avg rating — 1,624 ratings — published 2013 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Cold Steel Mind (Aneka Jansen, #2) 3.95 avg rating — 1,088 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Thaumatology 101 (Thaumatology, #1) 3.92 avg rating — 1,073 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Steel Heart (Aneka Jansen, #3) 3.96 avg rating — 956 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Winter War (Aneka Jansen, #4) 4.07 avg rating — 831 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Demon's Moon (Thaumatology, #2) 3.98 avg rating — 806 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Greatest Heights of Honour (Aneka Jansen, #5) 4.13 avg rating — 741 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Legacy (Thaumatology, #3) 4.06 avg rating — 697 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dragon's Blood (Thaumatology, #4) 4.09 avg rating — 668 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ugly (Ultrahumans, #1) 3.90 avg rating — 688 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Niall Teasdale's Blog

Update, June 2025

I’ve been meaning to write this for a while, but…

On the 29th of May (I think; time is blurring), my father died. I had been spending more or less all my time looking after him for the past few months. He turned 91 on the 13th of May, and I was pretty convinced he was going to keep going for years. He had a major stroke on Sunday night, slipped into unconsciousness, and finally died on the Thursday

Series by Niall Teasdale

Thaumatology (12 books)
by

Niall Teasdale (Goodreads Author)

4.05 avg rating — 8,374 ratings

Aneka Jansen (7 books)
by

Niall Teasdale (Goodreads Author)

3.98 avg rating — 6,409 ratings

Fox Meridian (10 books)
by

Niall Teasdale (Goodreads Author)

4.26 avg rating — 2,804 ratings

Death's Handmaiden (8 books)
by

Niall Teasdale (Goodreads Author)

4.44 avg rating — 2,615 ratings

Ultrahumans (8 books)
by

Niall Teasdale (Goodreads Author)

4.15 avg rating — 2,496 ratings

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Niall is Currently Reading

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Secrets of the Silent Witch (Light Novel), Vol. 2

by Matsuri Isora

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Sep 07, 2025 10:14AM

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Bonded in Death (In Death, #60)

by J.D. Robb (Goodreads Author)

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Aug 20, 2025 12:35PM

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Lycoris Recoil, Vol. 1 (manga) (Lycoris Recoil (manga))

by Yasunori Bizen

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May 21, 2025 01:10PM

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Niall Teasdale is currently reading Secrets of the Silent Witch (Light Novel), Vol. 2 by Matsuri Isora	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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I haven't commented on one of these for a while except to give a rating. This one, I felt I had to put in a bit of extra effort. Maybe Haniel got to me like s/he got to the characters in the book. I have no idea why I felt this particular volume was s ...more
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Quotes by Niall Teasdale (?)

“Russian,’ Svetilo said. ‘We are weaned onto vodka straight from breast.”
― Niall Teasdale, Frostburn

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“Meeting her is something like coming across your favourite rock star, who happens to be your girlfriend’s father, while he’s holding a shotgun.”
― Niall Teasdale, Hunter's Kiss

tags: humour

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“Gophers?’ Fox said. ‘You want to vaporise gophers with a railgun.’ ‘Well… less clean-up.’ ‘Damn.”
― Niall Teasdale, Criminal Minds

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Niall’s Quotes

“Don't Panic.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

tags: h2g2, hitchhiker-s-guide, humor, panic

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“In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.”
― Terry Pratchett

4292 likes

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

5144 likes

“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”
― Carl Sagan

tags: astronomer, science, writer

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“I'd rather be a rising ape than a falling angel.”
― Terry Pratchett

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Niall’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-2) post a comment »

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message 2: by Iori

Jul 29, 2013 08:21AM

I'm happy that you took into consideration my recommandation about Thomas Deprima's Series Galaxy Unknow. I hope that you'll like Jenetta's adventures.

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message 1: by Hazel *Craves the Angst Reviews*

Apr 30, 2012 04:25PM

Hello Niall.. thanks for the friend request.. always happy to make new friends.. Im looking forward to reading your book, Demons Moon for my R2R. Good luck and happy success!

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Niall’s Year In Books

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